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When Angie Reynolds was hiring for heavy equipment operator positions in Eastern Kentucky, she kept running into the same problem: there simply were not enough qualified workers. Many of the company’s most experienced operators were nearing retirement, and there were few trained replacements ready to step in.

She partnered with community colleges, worked with third-party trainers, and interviewed eager graduates—but when new hires arrived, they often lacked the skills the company needed.

Without a new solution, open positions would soon go unfilled as experienced workers retired. Across Eastern Kentucky, construction companies were facing the same reality: skilled labor shortages were limiting growth, and employers lacked a clear path forward.

That began to change when Angie’s company was asked to join the Eastern Kentucky Construction Talent Pipeline Management (TPM®) collaborative led by the Kentucky Chamber Foundation.

Through the TPM process, construction employers across the region came together to share workforce data, project hiring demand, and identify gaps in the talent pipeline. For the first time, employers could look beyond their own hiring needs and see the broader workforce challenge facing the region.

The collaborative surfaced a critical insight: employers across Eastern Kentucky were struggling to find experienced heavy equipment operators, and no training programs existed to prepare workers for those roles.

“The TPM collaborative was a turning point for me. I realized the workforce challenge I had been trying to solve inside my own company was affecting employers across the entire region. The Chamber Foundation brought us together to understand the problem—and that’s what inspired me to build a solution,” she said. 

With that insight, Angie launched the Training Eastern Kentuckians (TEK) Center, a trade school designed around real employer needs. Community support followed quickly, including more than 20 letters of support from business leaders, educators, workforce partners, and government officials and over $2 million in grant funding.

When the center opened in 2023, it began with heavy equipment operator training. Employer demand quickly expanded the model. The center added programs in industrial maintenance, electrical, plumbing, masonry, carpentry, and welding programs— each leading to industry-recognized credentials completed in less than a year.

The results have been significant. To date, 118 students have received training at the TEK Center, building a new pipeline of skilled workers for Eastern Kentucky.

The first two cohorts have generated more than $2.2 million in revenue, with projected economic impact exceeding $5 million by 2027. Local businesses are already seeing increased activity as workforce participation grows.

Employers from the Foundation’s TPM® collaborative have become real partners for TEK Center, actively participating in hiring events to engage graduates in employment opportunities.

Plans are now underway for a new state-of-the-art campus capable of training up to 400 students annually, expanding the region’s ability to prepare workers for in-demand careers.

What began as one employer’s effort to solve a hiring challenge has grown into a regional workforce engine—demonstrating what is possible when employers, educators, and workforce partners align training with real workforce demand.

Across Eastern Kentucky, the result is more than a new training center. It’s a clearer path for workers to step into skilled careers and for employers to plan for the future with greater confidence.

The TEK Center’s growth reflects the kind of employer-led workforce solutions the Kentucky Chamber Foundation works to support—bringing businesses together to identify shared challenges and turn them into lasting opportunities for their regions.